Studies indicate a relationship between traffic safety and cellular phone use. Drivers may become distracted while operating a phone and this raises safety concerns. Holding and operating a telephone may increase safety risks for drivers.
A driver's phone typically needs to be located, handled, and visually identifiable buttons operated to make or receive a call. Most phones have a display. A user's eyes require time to focus on the display, and additional time to re-focus on the road. Each of these steps may distract a driver from safe vehicle operation.
The concept of “hands free” telephone operation has arisen and some believe that providing a simple mechanism to enable phone functionality yields improved safety. “Hands free” devices have evolved including wireless earpieces, wired headsets with a call button to answer and drop calls without touching the phone, and integrated speaker-phone systems that enable a cell phone to dock into an automotive sound system having a fixed microphone and a speaker system.
Current “hands free” systems are not without problems. Wireless earpieces, e.g. Bluetooth devices, still need to be located and activated. In a moving car, a blue-tooth earpiece can easily shift position, bounce around, and become difficult to locate. Wired headsets have wires that can tangle, and may be quite difficult to untangle while driving. Speaker-phone systems broadcast conversations to other vehicle occupants, which may irritate parties to the conversation and other vehicle occupants.
What is desired is a way of improving automotive safety for those that use cellular phones while driving. What is also desired is a better way of managing ear bud cables. What is further desired is a way of simplifying the experience of listening to music on a portable electronic device.